Kawato/Tiger will get some attention. Tercera should be good. Second match is the debut of Mistik, a women who’s appeared a few things on indie shows (and probably more by a different spelling I haven’t figured out.) I think Lady Maravilla had a scheduling conflict but should be back here.

Dragon Lee & Audaz is an incredible team, but Dragon Lee’s due to be in Japan for the first day of BOSJ on 05/18. That means Templario & Ultimo Guerrero are the overwhelming favorite. Should still fun getting there. (More fun than the opener.)

Flyer & Volador Jr. advanced to the final of the Gran Alternativa on May 18th.

With Hechicero already beat, Espanto decided he’d rather foul and unmask Mistico than get beat himself.

Rush blatantly used the ropes (and was almost out of the ring) when he pinned Último Guerrero. Edgar missed it. UG clotheslined Edgar in retribution.

NGD all wore half Universo 2000 in tribute to their mentor.

Lluvia replaced Lady Maravilla in her first CMLL match since December 18, 2016. Seductora lightly shoved the referee and got shoved back harder, then disqualified.

Thoughts:

Electrico & Hechicero

This block of the Gran Alternativa started off strong before going into a lot of middling matches, not too different from other tournaments his year. They did make the block final victory feel like an accomplishment, though there’s not a lot more you can take out of it. Hechicero provided the best match of the bit with his extra effort in the lead off match w/Espanto Jr., Eléctrico and Mistico. Both técnicos looked great, thanks to one rudo. Espanto Jr. did contribute a hilarious exit from what should be his last ever “rising stars” tournament. It’s not happening for him or his partner in medicore matches Hijo del Signo. Signo whiffed on a trip spot in the opening minute, setting a tone. Maquiavelo has more time, but didn’t feel like he was ready for this competition, nervous and off during his match. Angel de Oro & Robin were the best pairing of the one and done teams, and Robin eliminating himself from the seeding battle royal with a dive was actually a sensible decision. (He didn’t seem to know he was eliminated until the referees told him.)

Magia Blanca didn’t get nearly as much out of this tournament as the last one. He did get in most of the offense in his second round match, with Atlantis not contributing a lot, but it was a match that felt cut short. This was another block final for Yago, but sort of a mixed bag. He looked good his opening round mach, and he took the big moves in the final. different pages in the one in the middle and it felt like he was running out of gas quick. Flyer got kicked in the head by uncle Volador many times, but they survived it well enough to win the whole thing. He was steadier in his flying this time than Torneo Nuevo Valores. This didn’t really set Flyer apart from the others like him, but the Gran Alternativa final is obviously going to be a strong match for him.

Rush

Último Guerrero versus Rush was a surprisingly strong match. Maybe the lightning match caused them to pick up the pace – they were hurrying to finish up before the time limit came into play still – or maybe he just woke up on the right side of bed. Rush was locked in from the start, fighting in an even more serious mode than his Kraneo match. Neither man got a lot past the greatest hits, but they pulled it together well.

The tercera was an acceptable midcard match, as they continue a heavy focus on Kraneo. Forastero actually stood out more with the distance he got on his flying spots, but the NGD were more playing to Kraneo’s strengths. Sansón & Forastero seem like they’ve eliminated the cool springboards that made them stand out at first. It didn’t quite fit their rudo characters, but it was wroth it not fitting to see them.

Robin

Seductora came out more aggressive in the women’s than Friday, trying to take on a tougher persona. It wasn’t enough to make this work, but it was an effort. Seductora still struggled with simple things, like her own signature side slam. Lluvia’s surprise return didn’t led to much – she didn’t get in a lot of offense, and she was there mostly to be the one to be eliminated by Seductora in the third fall. Lluvia’s corner dropkick looked nice, but she was taking the same weird looking hunched over backwards bumps that Tiffany does.

I didn’t hate the minis opener but it didn’t feel like anything worth going out of your way to watch. The usual key spots were there, but the speed and sharpness were not particularly part of it. There was less clowning by the rudos than usual, but it was mostly going thru the motions of a Friday night trios.